A day spent in Porto Christo which was a little underwhelming. Walked along the shore and had an OK lunch before visiting the main local attraction of the underground caves.
Very large caves with lots of the usual stalactites and stalagmites. Then a seated area in the depth of the cave to list to 4 classical music tracks played live on a rowing boat. An option of a wait and 3 minute boat trip out or my chosen of alternative of a short walk back to the surface and another coffee.
We drove in the morning to Puerto Pollensa where stopped for coffee by the sea front and walked along the promenade having detoured around a very nice nature reserve.
A very early start with a 6.30 am flight to Palma with Jet 2. Met some of the lads at the airport late morning and then took the hired car to drive to Magaluf to meet up with Glenn and Mark who had arrived very early that night.
Lunch near the seafront in Magaluf and a walk along the main coastal strip before heading to Aldi to stock up on booze and food.
It was a hot afternoon so several of us jumped in the pool that evening.
First big goal of the season was to complete this long tough race which this year is a Scottish and British Championship race. I had last done it 11 years ago. The route has changed a little with the first and final section being a bit more technical and undulating than previously. It felt very hard this year and I wasn't in great shape at the end getting a bit of a stitch around 10 mins from home. 4 hrs 2 mins was a decent enough time but would have liked a wee bit better.
On Tuesday morning we headed off to Roslin Glen for a very nice walk past the Chapel, Castle and Glen.
A new race on the calendar and a biggish turnout of around 250 runners. Weather was cool and a little cloudy but fairly good racing conditions although it turned out to be very cold on the tops requiring gloves, hat and coat to stay way. Legs not great so it was slow progress on the way up with generally the steeper bits being relatively good for me. A long run on the high terrain with a lot of bog to traverse. The descent down the gravel paths wasn't particularly nice and legs were feeling pretty crocked and not up for going too aggressively downhill. A time of 2 hrs 53 mins felt pretty good for a race of 13.2 miles and 1200 m climb.
Trip down to Screel near Dalbeattie for the first Short Scottish Champs Hill race. A nice route with start and finish on gravel road then some rougher and steeper sections. After a steady start feel on good form on the climb and made good progress through the field. Good fast descent - again passing a good few on the steep bits. Just 41 mins of running but exhilarating as at max effort most of the way.
Next day did the SOL at Limeriggs which was pretty horrendous terrain, very poor navigation and tired legs. Not a great experience.
It is nice to get to Glentress a couple of times a year as it is always fabulous to ride there. Started in Peebles with the hard ride up Janet's Brae. Then down to the main centre then steep climb via circuitous route to Dunslair Heights. Still a lot going on at Glentress with a new cafe at the top car park and around 50 new chalets built in the woods. Riding form was pretty good and enjoyed the Blue route climb sections although a fair bit of the upper half seemed to be closed.
In the evening I has a solo trip to the Queens Hall to see Imelda May. Not entirely sure what to expect as I have zero of her music and was expecting something quite noisy. It turned out to be an intimate set with two musicians and very good with lots of chatter, name dropping and really impressive performance. Very much enjoyed it from a seat at the back of the balcony with a good view. Best seats I think at Queens Hall.
A busy weekend with a trip to Tweedbank on Saturday for two urban sprint orienteering races around the small town of Tweedbank. Short, fast with easy navigation and good fun.
Sunday was orienteering at Calderwood coupled with helping at the start with car parking and at the end collecting controls. A pretty good performance considering legs a little tired.
In the evening we went to the Meadows Tap for the quiz night with Max, Kasia and Alastair. We won ! Mainly thanks to Alastair - not sure whether we added or detracted from what he would have scored. £40 bar voucher won.
Fabulous weather for one of my favourite race routes. None of the hills are too long and there are some lovely trails and views and the spring weather is often very nice like today. Viewing this very much as a training run to build distance and race experience for Stuc a Chroin Race. There was a very small field today and they all looked quite good. There had been an early start offered which meant the slowest were already on their way. After about 45 minutes the tail runner caught me although I pulled ahead of quite a few runners on the main steep ascent. Back on the flatter trails and I was caught be many and before long was at the back again. Had a bit of a tussle for a good few miles for last or second last place before he finally gapped me and I ran in last still feeling pretty good and running at a decent pace.
11.8 miles; 654 m climb ; 2 hrs 12 mins; 38 of 43 allowing for the early starters.
A couple of northern days for some challenging orienteering events. An early start for the drive up which was around 3.5 hours drive time and not too unpleasant. Stop for coffee and muffin at House of Bruar.
The saturday orienteering was a forest location at Dallaschyle near Cawdor. It was the Scottish Middle Distance Championships. Made one big mistake and wasn't helped by my best leg being voided due to a control in the wrong place. Came 22nd.
Overnight was in Nairn staying at the West End Hotel. Had a good walk round along in the late afternoon with a walk along the sea front to the harbour, the edge of the east beach, up the river and down the high street. Dinner at the Classroom was fine. An OK wee town but not inclined to want to return.
Sunday was the coastal forest of Culbin near Forres. A very challenging technical area with very complex contour detail. Felt I did reasonably well with just one big mistake on the 4th control. Came 50th on Blue out of 76 entries.
An afternoon trip down towards Broughton for my third run at the Chapelgill Hill Race. It claims to the the steepest hill race in the UK at an average slope of 30% over its short distance. Stunning weather and feeling pretty hot on the south facing ascent. Very hard work on the climb on which I felt I was doing OK taking a line that spread the climb a little. Lost a couple of places on the decent finishing 19th of the 29 runners and coming in 3rd on the M50 category.
In the evening we went to the Festival Theatre for a pretty professional amateur show of Priscilla which was a good fun evening out with good songs and oh so many costumes.
Another long training run of 14 miles, 650 m ascent from Dunkeld to Deuchary Hill. A lovely route with great weather after some early mist. Gentle stroll afterwards from Dunkeld to Birnam and visited the Birnam Oak for the first time.
Friday night 7 March out to the Royal Lyceum Theatre to see the musical Wild Rose. Very good show although the Glasgow accents a bit too wild at times for us Edinburgh folk.
Very nice dinner in Sunday night at Hendersons with Max and Kasia as my birthday treat.
A very busy day putting out controls, putting up tents, minimal organising of a very experienced team of orienteers and collecting controls. A very good turn out for some challenging orienteering in a nice Edinburgh park.
Just a training run but a nice experience in good weather. Started from home with first hill Arthurs Seat and last hill Blackford. Nice to be still running at the end. Two coffee stops along the way at Haymarket and Saughton.
A drive out to Loch Leven to mainly shop for binoculars for Cherry's birthday. A very good shopping experience with lots of options to try out overlooking the reserve or nearer small birds. Coffee & cake and a short walk to the hides where there wasn't a great deal to see in the murky weather.
Country music night at the Playhouse. A bit of a rowdy crowd and the loud music and bright lights led to a tactical exit at half time.
A lovely East Lothian race through forest trails, farm roads and tracks and along the beach. The weather not as nice as normal but the rain stayed away. Running form not fabulous but happy to have run all the way to the end with something left for a pick up in pace at the end. Around 2 hrs 8 mins for just under 13 miles distance.
Final day of the holiday. Drove about an hour to the ancient town of Besalu. Pleasant wander around the medieval streets. Impressive bridge from around 1000 AD.
We drove then to Banyoles for a pleasant walk of 4 miles around the lake. Seemed like a very pleasant town.
Not much else to see in Figueres apart from the Dali Museum and the town lacked the pleasant vibe of Gerona and other smaller towns in the area.
We didn't much enjoy the Dali museum either. It maybe had its time and we had our time when we liked that sort of thing. Not much by way of interpretation in the gallery/museum.
The cake shops were good though :)
A longish drive of 1 hr 15 mins to Blanes to visit the Botanic Garden which we have been to a couple of times in the distant past. Blanes much bigger than I remember it with a long seaside esplanade.
